Value each other--a Valentine

Valentine's Day is a chance to show how much we value each other.

Today, my article about kidnapping, human trafficking and MMIWG (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls) went live here, on the Jewish Independent website:

When Joseph went missing

This is a serious issue, and it's not just something that happens to "other" people or other communities. Moms, daughters--our family members, people we value--are going missing.

Valentine's Day also made me think about how my household makes stuff to show we care about each other. This morning, one of my kids gave me a handmade beaded bracelet and a lot of art he's made me.  I've hung up the art!  I am wearing my "mom" bracelet!

In the last few years, I've focused on designing things and offering special releases and sales for Valentine's Day.  This year, there's no new design and no 'special' sale. Why?

I've spent a lot of time reformatting older patterns lately so that they are now Low Vision Accessible.  This is a long process...I'm not done. This means knitters with vision challenges can use a pattern with easier to read, larger fonts, single column formatting, no italics, and photo descriptions.  It takes time to redo each pattern, but --I am doing it because I value all of us, and it would be great if all knitters could find patterns that they can read.

Reformatting these patterns also helped me to see that many of my patterns haven't sold a lot of copies, and perhaps they have only sold when they were on sale.  I try not to make my patterns expensive...so without a sale, they are accessible.  However, the message sometimes seems to be that only things 'on sale' or 'free' are good.  That message doesn't value me or my time or efforts, either.

My choice for Valentine's Day this year is to be proud of my knitwear design work, to keep trying to improve it, and also, to stop 'de-valuing' it, too.  So, no sale today.  Does this mean fewer patterns sold overall?  Maybe.  Does it mean I earn less income from patterns?  Yes...I'll need to find a way to make up that loss elsewhere in my freelance work.  At roughly $5US a pattern, it is not an easy way to earn income, even without a sale.

However, we, as people, have great value. Everyone is important.  I'm trying not to let financial issues get in the way of recognizing that...no matter who we are or what we create.   Each person has value and is a gift.

 All of these knitwear patterns, including "Deir Hart" and the "Thump Thump Mittens"--are available
on Ravelry and on Lovecrafts.


More importantly, let's value each other every day...not just Valentine's Day!

What will you do to further reconciliation?

This photo features what the Canadian Oath of Citizenship SHOULD say if the government passes a bill to update it to meet one of the points in the Truth and Reconciliation's 94 calls to action

Here's a link to my opinion piece that came out today on the CBC-Manitoba website:

'What will you do to further reconciliation?' Canadians need to act on MMIWG inquiry's calls for justice

I wrote this piece in response to being asked this "What will you do' question. In responding, I was reflecting on how all the inquiries seem to request  many similar things from the people and government of Canada... And few or none of the-totally valid-points are being dealt with properly or promptly in response.

(In other--less important-- household news, it's Shavuot, my kids have had way too much ice cream this weekend, and they also did very well at their first piano recital.  There's a lot going on, all at once-as usual- at my house.)